At Least Three Courses
by lilkawa
Summary: Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy attend a dinner party at the Bennetts.


_Pride and Prejudice_ doesn't belong to me.

Special thanks to Miriam1 for all your help. Thank you very much.

**At Least Three Courses**

Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley left Netherfield Park early and took the carriage to Longbourn, where Mrs. Bennet had invited them to dine that evening. They were both anxious, although Darcy concealed it better than his friend – Bingley had changed his shirt three times.

They had been over to Longbourn three days earlier to renew their acquaintance with the families in the neighbourhood. They had seen Jane and Elizabeth there of course, but they hadn't the opportunity to talk to them, as Mrs. Bennet had taken over the conversation and done most of the talking.

Darcy had watched Jane carefully during the visit, and armed with the insights from Elizabeth, he could see that Jane did seem to care a lot about Bingley, while Bingley was clearly very much in love with her. Darcy was sure that it wouldn't be long before the two of them got engaged.

Elizabeth tried to talk to him which he took as a good sign; maybe her feelings towards him had changed. He sincerely hoped so, because he was sure that he could never love another woman as much as he loved her.

Jane and Elizabeth were also very anxious about the dinner, and especially worried about how their mother would act in trying to impress Bingley and Darcy. Mrs. Bennet had already begun bemoaning her standard of housekeeping and cooking – wondering if they would find it up to scratch.

000

Mrs. Bennet was even more anxious than Darcy, Bingley, Jane and Elizabeth combined. When she'd invited Mr. Bingley and begrudgingly asked Darcy to join them as well – it seemed to her that Darcy would not leave his friend alone - she'd only been thinking of furthering the interaction between Jane and Bingley. If Mr. Bennet was going to be blasé about his daughter's future, the same wouldn't be said of her.

But now that they were on their way over she worried that her food and her house wouldn't be good enough for Mr. Darcy. The man was very proud – not to mention rich as well, she hoped that their food would be good enough for him. Not that it really mattered, this evening was all about Bingley and Jane but it would not do for Darcy to distract his friend by being unhappy with everything.

As Mrs. Bennet pondered his dilemma she came up with a solution. It was so simple, she really should have thought of it earlier. Elizabeth would entertain Mr. Darcy. She would keep him too busy to interfere with Bingley and Jane and possibly keep him too occupied to notice the food that was served.

It was good to know, Mrs. Bennet thought to herself, that Elizabeth's cleverness could come in handy some time.

000

When Darcy was led to the seat next to Elizabeth's, he could hardly believe his good fortune. He had been dreading the dinner – especially when Bingley had instantly taken the seat by Jane when they entered the room – wondering what he'd be expected to say. He hated making small talk, especially with people he didn't know.

Elizabeth also seemed happy to be seated next to him. She smiled at him and even began the conversation. They talked about Georgiana, Pemberley, the Gardiners and books that they had read recently.

Elizabeth had told herself that she would respect Darcy's wishes and not mention his part in bringing about the marriage of Lydia and Wickham – after all, it seemed to her the one thing guaranteed to push him out of her life forever. But she had to show her gratitude, to show him that the Bennets were civilized people at the very least.

"Thank you," she told him, when they had a pause in their conversation.

"For passing the salt?" he seemed surprised. "You're welcome."

"Yes, for passing the salt," Elizabeth replied. "But mostly for what you did for Lydia and Wickham."

"They told you?" he asked, shocked. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner had promised not to tell anyone.

"I'll have you know that my aunt and uncle did not tell me," Elizabeth said, reading his face correctly.

"I didn't mean to imply that Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner were so little to be trusted," Darcy told her.

"It was Lydia," Elizabeth said. "She mentioned that you were at her wedding."

He nodded and then did something he almost never did except with Georgie. "And so you decided that you would not rest until you found out what I was doing there?" he teased her. Elizabeth was shocked; she didn't know that he had it in him.

"Thank you," she told him again. "If my parents and my sisters knew they'd be adding their thanks as well."

"If you must thank me," Darcy replied, looking at her straight in the eyes. "Let it be for yourself alone."

"What?" Elizabeth couldn't help the question.

"I did it for you. I could not sit by and watch the suffering that your sister's actions would bring to you. I had to help them, for you." Elizabeth was staring at him in silence. The magnitude of what he was saying weighing down on her. He had done everything to help a man he despised, a man he had every reason to hate…for her. "Mr. Darcy," she began only to be interrupted by her mother's voice, urging the gentlemen to go to the library for port and cigars and the ladies to the smaller sitting room for tea.

For the rest of the evening, Elizabeth couldn't get Darcy alone to talk to; there was always some person or other separating them.

000

Mrs. Bennet was vexed to see Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy among the first people to leave the dinner party. However she was grateful to Elizabeth – although she had no intention of telling her – for keeping Mr. Darcy occupied. She doubted he could even find fault with her dinner; he'd seemed so taken up with Elizabeth. She idly wondered what Elizabeth had being saying to him to keep him so engrossed with her; well, it didn't really matter, Bingley and Jane seemed to be on the right track.

000

Darcy left Netherfield Park early the next morning, after talking to Bingley. If he hadn't had an important meeting in town, he would not have left at all, but he intended to return as soon as he could. He would spend time with Elizabeth, and who knows, with time she could get to love him as much as he loved her.

Only time would tell.

Thanks for reading and reviewing.


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